The Chargers made it official on Sunday: Tyler Biadasz is done for 2026. The move ends a nightmare summer for the offensive line addition Los Angeles signed to fix its interior this offseason, and it comes just weeks after his knee buckled during a joint practice with the 49ers.
Adam Schefter confirmed the same news minutes later, making it clear this wasn't a procedural paperwork move but a real, immediate hit to LA's roster.
Chargers officially placed C Tyler Biadasz on season-ending injured reserve.
According to ESPN, Biadasz tore his ACL and suffered additional left knee damage during a Tuesday joint practice with the 49ers, when San Francisco defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez fell into his leg during an 11-on-11 drill. He stayed down for nearly five minutes before being carted off, and the initial hope that it might not be season-ending evaporated once he consulted multiple specialists.
The timing stings. Biadasz signed a 3-year, $30 million deal with the Chargers in March as the centerpiece of GM Joe Hortiz's offensive line overhaul, arriving after Washington released him for cost reasons in February. He's a former Pro Bowler who started 49 straight games for Dallas and graded as PFF's 12th-best center in the league last season — exactly the kind of stabilizing veteran a line needs, and exactly what LA now has to replace before Week 1.
The job falls to rookie Jake Slaughter, who took over at center in that same practice and has already started once against the 49ers. Sean Payton's staff has reportedly liked what they've seen — Slaughter played center exclusively in college and has since shifted his full focus there — but asking a rookie to anchor the middle of an NFL offensive line from Week 1 is a very different ask than it was with Biadasz penciled in.
For a Chargers team with real playoff aspirations, losing a projected starting center to injury before the season even kicks off is the kind of blow that can quietly define a whole year up front. How Slaughter — or whoever else steps in — holds up will say a lot about whether LA's offensive line plans survive contact with reality.